Monday, April 10, 2006

40-Days to Servanthood: Day 37

Servants need never burn out.

Servants can burn out, of course. But why do they? I can cite two major reasons.

First, there’s the 80-20 rule. It says that in any organization, 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. Conversely, 20% of the work gets done by 80% of the people. Servants burn out when they shoulder more than their share of the responsibility for serving in the church, at home, at work, or in the community. All Christians need to see that the call to faith in Jesus is also a call to service (First Peter 2:9-10) and that every Christian is gifted for service (Romans 12:1-8).

But there’s another reason that servants burn out. The apostle Paul writes in Second Corinthians: “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (Second Corinthians 9:7). The attitude Paul describes relates to more than just our financial giving, helping us to see several things:

(1) Burnout can be the result of wrong motives. When our giving--whether it’s of our money or ourselves in service to others--is rendered “reluctantly or under compulsion,” it will burn us out. There's nothing more wearing or destructive to our spirits than "have to" religion.

(2) Burnout is avoided when our giving and serving result from having “made up” our minds to be givers and servants because of what Christ has done for us. Our minds are the filters through which we look at life and by which we gauge our experiences. If our minds are renewed in Christ (Romans 12:2) and we’re intent on being servants of God and of others, our whole experience of service will be positive, in spite of whatever difficulties we may encounter (Philippians 4:5-11).

By surrendering ourselves to Christ in “daily repentance and renewal,” we’ll become willing servants. We’ll become what Paul literally calls “hilarious” givers (Second Corinthians 9:7).

Servants need never burn out.

Bible Passage to Ponder: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

6 comments:

N8 said...

This is a great observation, because I've wondered about burnout myself in serving God. I try to have at least one in-depth devotional with Him every day. I've found that Christ really does renew my mind, and He never fails to speak to me when I truly devote my time to Him. When I seek, I truly find...

Mark Daniels said...

TGP:
Thank you for this insight gained from personal experience...and for stopping by the blog.

Blessings in Christ,
Mark

Spencer Troxell said...

Amen. It's awesome that all of these little tidbits show up for me when I need them. It always seems like the answer comes when I've just given up. Like the drowning person who has finally stopped struggling and then discovers they're floating. I find this is true for me in so many ways. At work, if an answer doesn't come to me, instead of trying to violently squeeze it out of my brain, I'll usually just ask, and often before the answer is even given, it pops into my head. Surrender is amazing.
Although I'm being a little vague on the particulars, This post is very appropriate. Thank you.

Mark Daniels said...

Spencer:
I'm really glad that you find it helpful!

God bless you and yours.

Mark

Falter Ego said...

Hi Mark,

I went and shared my time, experience, strength and hope with the residents of a locked detox and then a homeless veteran's shelter in Boston yesterday. It was a long day! I am having a hard time "staying on the beam" these last couple of days with my faith though. Any suggestions for the spiritually challenged?

Mark Daniels said...

I just went to your site and commented on your visit to the locked detox center.

Really, many of the same things that keep you on track with your recovery apply to keeping on track spiritually. Admitting that it's hard to keep on track is a big first step. Next, comes the topic of this post: Surrender. There is a sense in which we must be "born again" everyday, re-surrendering or surrendering in new areas or at deeper levels to our Higher Power. (That's also what I was talking about a few posts back when I said that servants always go back to the beginning.)

Enlisting others to support you is another step similar to those of AA that can help us spiritually.

I admire your honesty and perseverance. I'll keep praying for you.

Mark